Susan Mayclin Stephenson

Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years
Book one of the Montessori for Family and Community series
Some excerpts:

(page 2)

I was born during World War II, my parents far from home with no relatives to support them with the birth of their first child. Following the advice of other scientists, when I sobbed my heart out with hunger, father enfolded mother in his arms as she cried along with me. Together they watched the clock till the second hand approached twelve and the four hours were up. Only then was I allowed to nurse. This was 1943 when it was recommended that babies only be fed every four hours to prevent their being “spoiled.”

Now we know two things that would have been helpful. First, the intervals between feedings for a newborn shorten in the early days, and then lengthen, as mother and child adjust to each other. Secondly, it is during these first days and weeks that a child learns that the world is a safe place and that his needs will be met; or he learns that this is not the case. When a newborn is left to cry because the four hours wait-to-eat is not over, his brain might well have created an unhappy view of his world, even resulting in trauma later in life.

Recently, I shared this experience with a colleague who is well-known for his research into childhood trauma and how it can affect one throughout life. Gabor Maté (three months younger than me) recalls that his mother, being a physician’s daughter, dared not disobey the “experts” who at this time insisted on a strict schedule when feeding a newborn and infant.

He says, in the book The Myth of Normal, Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture: It turns out that our innate parenting instinct is perfectly calibrated to ensure the provision of the thing many experts would have us ignore: the child’s developmental needs.
(Chapter “Horticulture on the Moon: Parenting, Undermined”)

JOY AND PURPOSE, THE INFANT-TODDLER YEARS
     Since 1940, when Dr. Montessori asked her colleagues in Rome to begin research for supporting the development of the child from birth to three years, there has been continual international research and discovery.
Any Montessori advice is based on many years of observation of children in many countries of the world. This has led to an understanding of the developmental needs of the human at different stages of life. Observation inspires study,  followed by more observation, followed by more study and understanding, on and on. This is a dynamic process unique to each family, teacher, parent, grandparent, child.
This short book provides an introduction showing that a child is born with an inner instinct to meet the needs for each stage of his development, and that joy is the result when the adults understand this inner wisdom and honor it.

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I have just read this book, and I consider it a good introduction for parents and teachers alike.
—Judi Orion, Director of Pedagogy for Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)

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Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years
(US$10, 38 pages)
Contents: joy, purpose, sleeping, early language, movement, first steps, first words, real work, language, music, praise, concentration
Available on Amazon. CLICK: Joy and Purpose 0-3

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TOILET LEARNING
     Toilet learning, unfortunately often referred to as toilet training, is a developmental process not introduced in this book, but here is a quote from The Joyful Child: Montessori, Global Wisdom from Birth to Three, where the Montessori approach is explained:
     It takes careful observation and wisdom for the parents to see when a child is taking each new step in independence, weaning, and toilet learning—and the support and encouragement of the adult is the most effective aid to this vital growth in security and independence. We must be there for the infant when we are really needed but learn to step back when we are not.

 For more information on toilet learning see the book The Joyful Child CLICK: Joyful Child

. . . and this webpage:
Montessori Information, Articles, & Lectures for students, teachers, parents: CLICK: toileting

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(page 15)
The ideas presented in the book Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years, can have a profound and life-long positive affect on the newborn, the infant or toddler, the parents, the whole family.
There are 14 QR codes like the two shared in this blog post. When scanned, they lead to short videos that I have used for many years in my lectures.
I use video clips because I believe that:
A picture is worth 1,000 words, and . . .
A video clip is worth 10,000, at least.

(page 29)

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(Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years is adapted from the 0-3 section of Montessori for Family and Community. To see this book, addressing ages 0-18, CLICK: MFC

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Blessings,
Susan

Home page, CLICK: Susan

To see other books in this series, CLICK: Books